From Jason Pitzl-Waters of The Wild Hunt and Editor in Chief of the Pagan Newswire Collective:

Though I’ve written thousands of posts for The Wild Hunt, I couldn’t help but feel a certain sense of excitement writing today’s. Not just because I’ve been away for over a week, but because this is the first post of a newly independent Wild Hunt. A Wild Hunt that, while maintaining many of the things you’ve grown to love about our site, will also see a number of changes. The first will be that The Wild Hunt is no longer a solo venture. I am proud to welcome two new writer/reporters who will be making regular contributions each month here at this site: Rynn Fox and Heather Greene (Miraselena). Both have excellent resumes and backgrounds, and I’m excited about not only for what they’ll bring to you as readers, but also what they’ll allow me to do: spend more time writing and researching original journalism for the Pagan community.

In addition, The Wild Hunt is standing on principle, and will not only be paying our two new reporters, but will also be paying all contributors to the site from this point forward. I’ve seen a troubling trend within our culture to expect content and excellent reporting to happen without support from the community the writers are serving. While there is amazing free content out there, and many, many, talented writers who are doing this for the love of it, I feel there needs to be a space where this work is nurtured, supported, and paid for. From guest posts by top-notch writers like Eric Scott, a contributing editor at Killing The Buddha, to the contemplative writings of Teo Bishop, or the latest breaking story from a Pagan Newswire Collective bureau. So with my first post of the newly independent Wild Hunt, let me announce our annual Fall Funding Drive.

http://www.indiegogo.com/the-wild-hunt-fall-funding

Over the next month I’m hoping to raise $6000 to not only cover costs here, but to use that money to turn The Wild Hunt into an enterprise that pushes this site to a different level, one that sustains, trains, and propagates excellence in Pagan journalism, analysis, and commentary. Head over to the official IndieGoGo site for a full explanation of what the money will be used for, the various perks of becoming a Wild Hunt funder, and why your donation is so important. So spread the word, and if can, please contribute!

Here’s how we’ll spend that $6000 dollars:

$1000: Yearly Hosting Fee

$1200: $100 per month for reporter Rynn Fox

$1200: $100 per month for reporter/columnist Heather Greene

$1200: $100 per month to run stories from the Pagan Newswire Collective

$1200: Yearly budget for guest posts from other writers.

$200: Fees and other expenses.

This will, I believe, provide incentive to build better Pagan journalism, help train writers and reporters interested in emulating The Wild Hunt, and allow me (Jason) the time to write more in-depth journalism for our community.

But Jason, why aren’t you being paid in this budget? Good question! If we happen to surpass our goal, I will budget a salary for myself, but I’m more concerned with buidling a new model for Pagan media and I’m willing to put my time, energy, and money, where my mouth is. If we succeed here, maybe we can do more, build more, expect more, from our Pagan media outlets.